Debkakes in the UK 2025

Further adventures on land and water

London
April 13 – Hello, London
April 14 – Canal Walk & Nat’l Gallery
April 14, Part 2 – Critters & Portrait Gallery
April 15 – Tower of London
April 16- Bath
April 17 – The Serpentine Gallery
April 18 – Cricket!!
April 19- The Wallace Collection
April 20 – Abbey Road

Paris
April 21 – Sacre Coeur
April 22 – Notre Dame & Musee de Cluny
April 23 – Musee d’Orsay & David Hockney
April 24 – Modern Art & Pere Lachaise
April 25 – Accidental Day Off
April 26 – Montparnasse, Catacombs, Pompidou

Ludlow
April 27 – Train to Ludlow
April 28 – Hill Walk
April 29 – Ludlow Castle & St. Laurence Church
April 30 – Ludlow to Knighton

Glyndwr’s Way, Powys County, Wales
May 1 – Knighton to Llangunlo
May 2 – Llangunlo to Felindre
May 3 – Felindre to Llanbadarn Fynydd
May 4 – Llanbadarn Fynydd to Abbeycwmhir
May 5 & 6 – Abbeycwmhir to Llanidloes, a Day in Llanidloes
May 7 – Llanidloes to Hafren Forest
May 8 & 9 – Dyliffe & Machynlleth

Llwyngwril, Wales (and briefly Aberdeen)
May 10 – Llwyngwril Reunion
May 11 – Day of Rest
May 12 – Portmeirion
May 13 – Day of Art and Rest
May 14 – A Little Train Ride
May 15 – A Big Train Ride to Blaenau Ffestiniog
May 16 – Bus Ride to Porthmadog
May 17 – A Day in Aberystwyth
May 18 – A Tiny Train Ride in Fairbourne
May 19 – On to Shetland via Aberdeen

Shetland Isles
May 20 – Overnight Ferry to Shetland
May 21 – Lerwick and Sumburgh Head PUFFINS
May 22 – Day trip to Bressay
May 23 – Textile Museum and on to Vidlin/Lunna Pod
May 24 – Lunna Kirk
May 25 – A Rainy Day at Home
May 26 – A Walk on Whalsay and Cavorting with a Lamb
May 27 – The Cabin Museum and Eshaness
May 28 – Unst Unst Unst
May 29 – Birthday Girl
May 30 – Puffins Part 2, St. Ninian’s, and Ferry to Orkney

Orkney Isles
May 31 – A Day in Kirkwall
June 1 – Ring of Brodgar, Stenness Stones
June 2 – Scara Brae, Castle of Yesnaby, Marwick Head
June 3 – Day Off
June 4 – Broch of Gurness, HMS Tern, Lamb Holm (Italian Chapel), Happy Valley
June 5 – TCOB
June 6 – Castle O’Burrian Puffins, Superb Walk
June 7 – More Puffins, Grobust Beach, Noltland Castle, Jack’s Chippie
June 8 – A Day on Papay
June 9 – Ferry, Kirkwall, Ferry

Falkirk and Union Canal
June 10 – Bus, Train, Falkirk Canal Walk and Kelpies
June 11 – Falkirk Wheel and Navigating the Union Canal
June 12 – A Day in Linlithgow
June 13 – Day Two on Union Canal
June 14 – Day of Borked Train Travel to Sheringham

Sheringham and London
June 15 – Sheringham Museum, Christine’s House
June 16 – A Day in Sheringham
June 17 – To London!
June 18 – Camden Art Center, Freud Museum, British Library
June 19 – Sir John Soane’s Museum, Hunterian Museum
June 20 – Sewer Gas Light
June 21 – Hampstead Heath, Museum of Curiosities
June 22 – Tate Modern, Pocket Park
June 23 – Camden Town, Graffiti Tunnel
June 24 – Quadrophenia
June 25 – Docklands Museum of London
June 26 – In Search of Edwin Abbot Abbot, V&A East Storehouse, Parkland Walk
June 27 and Home!

For past travels, visit https://debkakesintheuk2018.wordpress.com/ and https://debkakesintheuk2022.blog/

June 08 – A Day on Papay

Up bright and early on our last day! The nearest isle is Papa Westray, fondly called Papay and pronounced “Poppy”, and one can take a short ferry ride (foot and bike traffic only), or a 7-minute flight (very popular). We opted for the ferry! Snacks and water in hand, and a pretty strict timeline to catch a reasonable ferry back to Westray to pack up our stuff for an intense day of travel next day.

On my way to the UK this time, I watched a movie called “The Outrun,” which I HIGHLY recommend. It was partly filmed on Papay. Saoirse Ronan gives a stunning performance. It is based on a memoir by Amy Liptrot, which makes it even better!

Breakfast of champions!
Tiny passenger ferry to Papa Westray — also known as Papay, pronounced poppy.
Not much of anything here except nature.
What! More puffins?
A lovely cliff walk.
He stands alone.
And then flies alone.
Eider ducks! Called “dunters” in Orkney.
I came to love curlews so much! They are called “whaup” here – delightful!
Call of the curlew.
Excuse us, ma’am. Nesting fulmers.
Black guillemots, aka “tysties.”
Always in stile.
Howdy, pinipeds!
Many ‘peds!
A very Orcadian mural.
Along the walk, much playfulness!
Papa Westray or Westeros? Whose sigal is this??

Psyched to have time to visit the Knap of Howar. About concurrent with Scara Brae, but a much smaller settlement.

Concurrent with Scara Brae, very very old.
Pretty tiny in comparison with some settlements. But talk about a view!!
This wheatear was quite distressed by our presence. They are quite fussy in general.
Ask me about my Corncrake story! They are rare indeed, and I saw one in the Outer Hebrides. They do live on Papay, and play a part in the movie “The Outrun” referenced above.
Good night friend.

The next day’s travel was going to require some tight schedules! The only time it was necessary to plan in that manner – and more than a little stressful to make everything line up properly. But for this night: packing up, tidying up, and resting.